Refrigerating and storage cabinet for automobiles



g a Patented Sept; 1944 REFRIGERATIN G AND STORAGE CABINET FOR AUTOMOBILES Manuel Hurtado, Mexico City, Mexico Application May 15, 1942, Serial No. 443,134 In Mexico July 17, 1941 1 Claim.

This invention refers to a cabinet to hold bottled or soft drinks or refreshments on board automobiles. Said cabinet is to be placed on and against the back of the front seat of car as the most suitable place, but some other situation inside the car can be selected. My invention is of improved construction and differs from all others now in use, being provided with means to contain bottles of plain water, refreshments like Coca-Cola, Canada Dry, lemonade, mineral waters and fruit juices, which are at all times kept iced therein. Means to instal spare or extra uniced refreshments to replace iced such after consumption by changing the location of the bottles for storage as empty bottles; means to contain glasses to serve said drinks to the persons travelling on the car; means to carry lunches and/or light repasts, means to cover and insulate the cabinet with its contents, so that it may not present poor appearance nor be in the way of the persons occupying the back seat of the vehicle.

The practice to date has been, on lengthy trips by road, to take along somewhere on board the car a container with cold water to allay the thirst of the travellers on long runs, but said practice is inconvenient and deficient because wherever the water container be placed it is in the way and is liable to upset at the risk of breakage and wetting the floor of the car. Not only this, but those on board are deprived of the precious liquid until they arrive at some place where they can get a supply which is not always fit to drink nor free from amoebas or other bacteria hurtful to health.

With the use of my refrigerating cabinet for automobiles invented by me and for which I wish to take out a patent, all the drawbacks and disadvantages mentioned are avoided, as before starting on a trip and when loading gasoline, oil and testing tire pressure the central tank can be supplied with ice or other refrigerating material, and the bottles and refreshments can be put into it, spare or extra bottles in the side compartment, while glasses are kept on the opposite side; the bottom portion is used to store the lunch or solid refreshment.

With the foregoing and other objects in view, the nature of which will appear as the description proceeds, the invention resides in the construction, combination and arrangement of parts hereinafter fully described and claimed, and illustrated in the accompanying drawing, wherein:

Figure 1 is a view partly in front elevation and partly in vertical section of a cabinet constructed in accordance with my invention.

Figure 2 is a view partly in vertical section and partly in elevation illustrating the relation of the cabinet to the front seat of an automobile, and

Figure 3 is a top plan view of the seat and cabinet, the cover of the cabinet being in opened position.

Referring in detail to the drawing, wherein like reference numerals designate corresponding parts.

l designates the cabinet and 2 a front seat of an automobile. The cabinet l is narrow and it is substantially equal in height and Width to the back of the seat 2. The cabinet 1 is located in close relation to the back of the seat 2 and is secured firmly to the seat by bolts or by any other suitable means.

The upper portion of the cabinet 4 is divided into a central or refrigerating compartment 3 and side or storage compartments 4 and 5, respectively. The refrigerating compartment 3 is adapted to contain ice, solid carbon dioxide or other suit able refrigerant as indicated at 6 and is large enough to receive several bottles, designated at 1, containing the liquid or liquids to be cooled. The bottom and lateral sides of the refrigerating compartment 3 are insulated as indicated at 8.

The storage compartment 4 comprises a shelf 9 adapted to support bottles E0 of water or the like. The storage compartment 5 comprises a shelf ll adapted to support a plurality of glasses l2. The shelves 9 and H are mounted for vertical sliding movement so as to permit the bottles l0 and glasses l2 to be raised or lowered with respect to guards I3 and I4, respectively. The guards are stationary and are provided with openings l3a and Ma respectively, through which the upper ends of the bottles in and glasses l2 extend when the bottles and glasses are in raised position. When the bottles l0 and glasses l2 are in lowered position, they are located entirely below the guards l3 and M. The shelf-mounting means comprises guides 9a and guides Illa secured respectively to the side walls of the compartments 4 and 5. This means also comprises rods 9?) and lob secured respectively to a under sides of the shelves 9 and H and slidably mounted in the guides 9a and Illa. To prevent the jarring of the automobile from moving the glasses and bottles out of alignment with the openings in the guards I 3 and 14, the shelves may be raised from the positions in which they are shown in Figure 1 suificiently to arrange the upper ends of the bottles and glasses in the openings of the guards.

Means through the medium of which the shelves 9 and II may .be raised or lowered comprises a rack bar I5 mounted for vertical sliding movement in the cabinet I directly below the reirigerating chamber 3. The rack bar I5 is provided at its upper end with arms I6 which are connected, as at IT, to the lower sides of the shelves 9 and II. A pinion I'I' engaging the rack bar I5, is provided with a hand crank I8 through the medium of which it may be turned to operate the rack bar l5 when the shelves are to be raised or lowered. The rack bar I5 is held against the rear wall of the cabinet I, and is held against lateral displacement away from the pinion II, by headed pins I5a which are fixed to the rear wall of the cabinet and which contact with the front side of the rack bar and with that side of the rack bar opposite to the teeth. A pawl I9 engaging the pihion I'I holds the bar I5 against accidental movement from its raised or lowered position. As the guards I3 and I4 are fixedly secured within the cabinet, and the shelves movable with relation thereto, the shelves may be raised until the lower ends of the articles are within the openings of the guards whereby to permit any one or more of the articles to be readily removed from the cabinet. The shelves 9 and Il may be moved downwardly with relation to the guards l3 and I 4 to arrange the articles below the guards or to arrange the articles with their upper ends within the openings. of the guards.

A lid 20 is provided for the refrigerating compartment 3 and the storage compartments 6 and 5. The lid is hinged as at M, to the upper edge of the front side Ia of the cabinet. The lid 20 extends horizontally rearward from the front side Ia of the cabinet I when it is in opened position, whereby to provide a serving shelf for the articles removed from the cabinet. The lower side of the lid 20 is provided with a mirror 22 which adds to the attractiveness of the lid when opened, and which provides the lid with a surface that may be readily cleaned.

Those portions of the cabinet I located below the storage compartments 4 and 5 may be used for the purpose of containing articles of food. Access to these cabinet portions may be had through doors 23 and 24.

From the foregoing description, taken in connection with the accompanying drawing, it will be understood that the cabinet may be readily secured to the back of the front seat of an automobile, that it will occupy comparatively little space, and that it is neat and attractive in appearance. It will also be understood that the cabinet may be manufactured and sold at a comparatively low cost. It will still further be understood that the bottles I 0 and glasses I2 may be easily moved into raised position through the medium of the hand crank I8, and that when they are in raised position they are readily acces sible and easily removed. The refrigerating compartment 3 is provided with a suitable drain 25 discharging into a drip pan 26. When the lid 20 is in opened position, one or more of the bottles "I and glasses l2 may be conveniently withdrawn from their compartments and placed upon the serving shelf provided by the lid. Also one or more of the bottles It] may be conveniently transferred from the storage compartment 4 to the refrigerating compartment 3, and an empty bottle or bottles placed in the storage compartment.

Having thus fully described my invention what I claim is:

A cabinet of the character set forth comprising a refrigerating compartment, storage compartments located at the sides of said first compartment, shelves mounted in the storage compartments for vertical movement, a rack bar mounted in the cabinet below the refrigerating compartment for vertical sliding movement, arms carried by the rack bar and connected to the shelves, a pinion meshing with the rack bar, means for turning the pinion, means associated with the pinion for holding the shelves in raised or lowered position, and a lid for the compartments.

MANUEL HURTADO. 

